Customer Reviews

Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Tailoring : The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket" is the BEST book on sewing a classicly tailored jacket - and I have read ALL of them! There are step-by-step pictures and excellent explanations. I found it much easier and more helpful than the Cabrero text. The book explains both the hand couture and machine methods of jacket tailoring. To supplement this text I'd also recommend Mary Ellen Flury's book, "Tailoring Ladies Jackets" along with anything by Sandra Betzina and Kenneth D. King.

This is a fully illustrated guide to the three main methods of tailoring: custom tailoring done by hand, machine tailoring, and tailoring using fusible interfacing. The book is quite comprehensive, covering the entire process of making a tailored jacket from selecting the materials, including a detailed section on different types of interfacings, through fitting the pattern, cutting and marking, and all steps of construction for the three methods. There is an illustrated guide to the tools used in tailoring, detailed instructions for several kinds of pockets including patch pockets, lined patch pockets, welt pockets, single welt pockets and welt pockets with flaps, and a section on bound buttonholes. Linings are also covered, including hand installation of linings, machine installation of linings, partial linings, and how to make partial or full linings for an unlined jacket pattern. The book focuses on jackets with notched collars, explaining that these require the most tailoring, but shawl collars are also covered. Other types of collars are not specifically addressed.
The book is clear and comprehensive, and a great choice for anyone wishing to learn tailoring. I do have a few criticisms. Some things are explained in great detail, such as the pockets and a section on threads, equipment and techniques for hand sewing. Some others are not and omit a few details that would have been helpful. For instance, the book explains that taping the front is done in custom tailoring but not necessary in machine or fusible tailoring, and it clearly explains how to tape the front step by step and with full color photo illustration. It doesn't explain why taping the front is important or what it does. I found out courtesy of one of Claire Schaeffer's couture patterns for Vogue that taping the front weights it so that the fronts of the jacket hang perpendicular to the floor even when the jacket is open instead of slanting. The book mentions jump pleats in the lining section but doesn't explain how to form one. There is a section comparing the three methods and examples of how one might use a combination of methods, but it doesn't really explain the pros and cons of each method. The author also seems to have a few personal biases, such as recommending against silk as a lining material because it can get water stains under the arms.
Overall it is a very good guide but I would recommend supplementing it with other books if you really want to get into the subject.

This Book is the best Book ever produced in regards to Tailoring with step by step instructions and lots of Pictures to follow. However I was hoping that this would be a different kind of Book than the one I already own. This is a reprint of the Singer Reference Library Book about Tailoring which was published in 1988. I was looking for this Book for many Years and I am glad to know that another Publisher seem to have aquired the rights to the Singer Books.

I agree with everyone's opinions here and confirm that this book has the same content in the Singer Tailoring book that is part of the useful Singer Sewing Reference Lirary series published in 1988 by Cy DeCosse Inc. The table of content are a spot-on-match to the Singer original as are the clear photos using contrasting thread for clarity.
The explantions of using fusible interfacing (which tailoring purist in the past would turn their nose up at as being low class and cheap) and machine stitching instead of pad-stitiching, both of which are found in today's expensive Armani clothes, are very helpful.
I have just about every tailoring book published, including the Adele Margolis, Roberto Cabrera and Stanley Hostek classics, but this is the book I reach for often.

This is a really good book on tailoring jackets. I'm a person who needs to see it, and this book has "400 how-to photographs" that do a good job of giving close up photos of exactly what is being described. This book is certianlly worth adding to a sewing library.

Yes, this is an exact duplicate of the 1988 Singer Sewing Reference Library book -Tailoring- as another reviewer (Brigitte Brand) states previously. I almost bought this book until I saw her review. I have the old Singer book. I checked and besides different front and back cover photos this book is an exact duplicate of the older Singer book from the dated fabric photos to the verbatim text and index. There is absolutely nothing new and it hasn't been updated at all. From the new cover picture it would almost seem that the contents are all about men's suits. That's not the case, however. All the examples within are suits for women. Of course women's suits started out being men's suits and the techniques and skills are identical. So this remains a fantastic book for men or women as other reviewers have described. If you ignore the very dated fabric patterns and (If you're a man) you also ignore that all the suits are women's, you will still receive very clear and excellent instruction. A well made suit in 1988 is still a will made suit today. Nothing much has changed except style so if you can find a bargain on the old book, get it! If not, this one is pretty cheap too for the amount of great information within.

The book is well written and has good illustrations. It offers machine stitching alternatives to the hand pad stitching, which may be of use to women who are tailoring their own jackets but do not have the time to sit and do the stitching by hand. This machine stitched version is the only part that I might consider using as an alternative to the hand stitching. I am not a fan of iron-on interfacing and would not use it in a tailored jacket, but I know someone might and the book shows how it can be used to give a decent look to a tailored jacket.

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to tailor a jacket. I still prefer Adele Margolis and Ethel Wyllie as my references for tailoring, but this is a good updated version with easy to follow instructions, especially for someone who has never tailored a jacket.

I was looking for the original Singer "Tailoring" Book but evidently they no longer make it, and no one on EBAY is willing to sell it....so I looked into this book which has some great tailoring techniques and photos, but sadly it only covers jackets and not pants and skirts as well like the original Singer book did. sigh.

I have a number of books on tailoring and highly recommend this one for its detailed explanations, fine photos and presentation of different aspects of tailoring, from labor intensive custom work to the use of fusibles. As an avid sewer who has made my own clothes for years, I have always been slightly dissatisfied with the available information on tailoring, which often focused on techniques I either did not have time for or were not explained well enough. I followed the steps in the book (using the fusibles example) to make a jacket that fits perfectly and looks professional. It is not a book for the novice sewer but I certainly recommend it to anyone who has been looking for a guide to tailoring that offers different techniques and explains each of them well.

Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket is an excellent resource for any home sewer seeking to improve tailoring skills. The many color illustrations make instructions exceptionally clear and easy to understand. Commercial patterns just do not provide enough accurate information to achieve a professional result in tailored jacket construction, but this book makes that possible.